Record 7,000 new school places fast-tracked
A record 7,000 new school places is being provided this year under the Government’s fast-track building scheme, it was revealed today.
Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe said the scale and level of investment is unprecedented with 26 major school construction projects being rolled out at a total cost of around €100m.
It is estimated that around 100,000 new primary and secondary school places will be needed over the next seven years, particularly in the Dublin area, to cope with the rising birth rate.
“The scale and level of investment in new accommodation is unprecedented and it is tangible evidence of this Government’s commitment to the school-building programme,” Mr O’Keeffe said.
“This fast-track approach to the provision of school buildings will deliver 26 major building projects this year providing accommodation for about 7,000 students.”
Mr O’Keeffe said 20 of these buildings consist of eight-classroom units and the remainder are 16-classroom units.
“They are located in areas which have experienced rapid population growth over the past number of years,” the Minister said.
“Twenty-three of these schools were recently handed over to the relevant school authorities, with the remaining three to be completed by the end of October.
“Each school represents a multi-million euro investment by my Department, with an overall construction programme cost, excluding site costs, of 100 million euro this year.”
Mr O’Keeffe said the scale of the investment was necessary to keep pace with the enormous demographic changes that have occurred in recent years.
It is estimated that about 100,000 additional primary and secondary school places will be needed over the next seven years, mostly in Dublin and the commuter belt.
“The annual total of births in Ireland has been increasing since 1995 which has resulted in enrolments at primary level increasing since 2001/02 and this trend is projected to continue increasing in the short to medium term,” Mr O’Keeffe said.
“Inward migration has also been pushing up enrolment at both primary and second level in recent years, together with an underlying increase in participation, especially beyond the compulsory school-leaving age.”
